Online Listing

New Airbnb Categories Change How Guests Find You

Is your place showing up in the right Airbnb Categories?

Sound Familiar?

Pesky Problem

Your place isn’t showing up in the right Airbnb Categories.

There’s a new way guests are searching for their next Airbnb. In their 2022 Summer Release, Airbnb rolled out a new feature called Airbnb Categories. These 56 inaugural categories appear at the top of the app and offer an inviting way for guests to explore potential Airbnbs based on the type of vacation they’re envisioning. This flips the typical travel search on its head, encouraging guests to pick their Airbnb before they’ve picked a location. The company is calling this the biggest change to the Airbnb platform in a decade.

As avid guests, we’re stoked. We love to let awesome Airbnbs guide where we travel. For that reason, Airbnb Categories should be especially helpful for hosts sitting outside typical tourist destinations. It gives guests an easy way to discover places they wouldn’t know exactly how to search for. But while this feature feels pretty darn seamless for guests, it’s still rather clunky for hosts. Many hosts are wondering which Airbnb Categories they are included in and how to get added to categories where they feel their place belongs. You can read more on this thread in the Airbnb Community Forum.

Let's Try This

Bite-Size Solution

Focus on adding the right keywords to your listing and high quality photos.

As a host, you don’t get to choose which Airbnb Categories you’ll be included in. In Airbnb’s article, The Airbnb 2022 Summer Release: What Hosts Need to Know, the company explains how listings end up in specific categories. The bulk of the curation process is automated, depending heavily on “machine learning to analyze titles, descriptions, photo captions, structured data from Hosts, and reviews.” What does that mean for you as a host? It means your listing must be up-to-date and fully reflect the category where you should appear. You should include the right keywords throughout your listing and check all of the relevant amenities too.

Translation…got an A-Frame cabin? Use that word explicitly and frequently throughout your listing. Think title, description, photo captions, etc. Own the perfect spot for surfing? Say it loud and proud. Additionally, Airbnb mentions that high quality photos help boost your ranking. If you’ve been part of the Big Heart Hosting community for a while, you know we always encourage hosts to get professional photographs taken of your space. If you haven’t saved up for that investment yet, now might be a great time to start. Since the company determines your categories, your best bet is to follow their advice and keep your listing in tip-top shape.

5 Minutes

Here's Your First Step

Determine which Airbnb Categories match your place..

Let’s be honest. It can be really nerve-wracking anytime a big tech company changes their search algorithm. But remember, there are some big benefits to being included in the right Airbnb Categories, especially if you’re off the beaten path. So fear not! Here’s your first step.

Review the 56 Airbnb Categories currently included in the app, and write down the category (or categories—yep, you can appear in more than one) that best represents your space. Then open the Airbnb app and search your neighborhood using that Airbnb Category filter to see if your place shows up. Here’s the forum thread about figuring out which categories Airbnb has included you in. There’s still not a graceful way for hosts to see a list of the categories where they’ve been included. Hopefully that’s coming soon.

If you show up in your desired Airbnb Categories, great! If you don’t, no worries. It’s just time to buckle down and get that listing polished up to highlight the best elements of your Airbnb. If you haven’t gone through our 5-day challenge to optimize your Airbnb listing, now would be a perfect time to dive in. We’ll see you there!

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